Council Decision (EU) 2026/2233 of 28 September 2026 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union on the amendments to the Annexes to the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) and to the Regulations annexed to the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN)
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Address https://gelex.eu/eli/EU/decision/2026/2233@2026-09-28/en
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91, in conjunction with Article 218(9), thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1) The Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) entered into force on 29 January 1968. The European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) entered into force on 28 February 2008.
(2) Pursuant to Article 14 of the ADR, any Contracting Party is able to propose one or more amendments to the Annexes to the ADR. The Working Party on Transport of Dangerous Goods (WP.15) is the body competent to decide on the adoption of any such amendments. Pursuant to Article 20 of the ADN, any Contracting Party is able to propose one or more amendments to the Regulations annexed to the ADN. The Administrative Committee established under the ADN (the ADN Administrative Committee) is the body competent to decide on the adoption of any such amendments.
(3) During the two-year period between 2024 and 2026, the WP.15 and the ADN Administrative Committee adopted amendments to the Annexes to the ADR and to the Regulations annexed to the ADN, respectively, which were notified to the ADR Contracting Parties on 1 July 2026 and to the ADN Contracting Parties on 1 July 2026 and 1 September 2026.
(4) Pursuant to Article 14 of the ADR, proposed amendments to the Annexes thereto are deemed to be accepted unless at least one third of the Contracting Parties, or five of them if one third exceeds that figure, objects to those amendments within three months from the date on which the Secretary-General of the United Nations (the Secretary-General) circulated them. Pursuant to Article 20 of the ADN, any draft amendments to the Regulations annexed to the ADN are deemed to be accepted unless at least one third of the Contracting Parties, or five of them if one third exceeds that figure, objects to those amendments within three months from the date on which the Secretary-General circulated them.
(5) It is appropriate to establish the position to be adopted on the Union’s behalf with regard to the amendments to the ADR and the ADN, as they will be binding under international law and are capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law, namely Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. That Directive lays down requirements for the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail or inland waterways, which are to apply within or between Member States, by referring to the ADR and the ADN. Additionally, that Directive states that the transport of dangerous goods between Member States and third countries is to be authorised in so far as it complies with the requirements of the ADR, the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) and the ADN. Moreover, in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2008/68/EC, the Commission is empowered to adapt Annex I, Section I.1, and Annex III, Section III.1, to Directive 2008/68/EC to scientific and technical progress, in particular to take account of amendments to the ADR, RID or ADN.
(6) The Union is not a Contracting Party to the ADR or to the ADN. However, that does not prevent it from exercising its competence by establishing, through its institutions, a position to be adopted on its behalf in the body set up by either Agreement, in particular through the Member States which are Contracting Parties to either Agreement acting jointly in the interest of the Union.
(7) All Member States are Contracting Parties to the ADR and apply it, and 13 Member States are Contracting Parties to the ADN and apply it.
(8) The amendments aim to ensure the safe and efficient transport of dangerous goods, while taking into account scientific and technical progress in the sector and the development of new substances and articles that could be dangerous while being transported. The development of the transport of dangerous goods by road and inland waterways, both within the Union and between the Union and its neighbouring countries, is a key component of the common transport policy and ensures proper functioning of all industrial branches producing or making use of goods classified as dangerous under the ADR or the ADN.
(9) The amendments are considered to be appropriate for ensuring the safe transport of dangerous goods in a cost-effective manner, are justified and beneficial and should therefore be supported by the Union.
(10) The Union’s position as regards the amendments to the Annexes to the ADR and the amendments to the Regulations annexed to the ADN is to be expressed by the Member States that are Contracting Parties to the ADR and to the ADN, respectively, acting jointly in the interest of the Union,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The position to be taken on behalf of the Union shall be to agree to the amendments to Annexes A and B to the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), as referenced in UN Notification C.N.252.2026.TREATIES-XI.B.14, within the UNECE Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (WP.15), and to the amendments to the Annexed Regulations to the European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN), as referenced in UN Notifications C.N.254.2026.TREATIES-XI.D.6 and C.N.337.2026.TREATIES-XI.D.6, within the ADN Administrative Committee.
Article 2
The position set out in Article 1 shall be expressed by the Member States that are Contracting Parties to the ADR and to the ADN, respectively, as regards the amendments to the Annexes to the ADR and the amendments to the Regulations annexed to the ADN, respectively, acting jointly in the interest of the Union.
Article 3
Minor technical changes to the position set out in Article 1 may be agreed upon without a further decision of the Council.
Article 4
A reference to the accepted amendments to the Annexes to the ADR and to the Regulations annexed to the ADN shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, indicating the date of their entry into force.
Article 5
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Done at Brussels, 28 September 2026. For the Council The President M. Heydon